So yesterday we finally got around to taking David to get his hearing tested, standard procedure for children with speech delays, but something we've never done because it's totally obvious to us he doesn't have a hearing problem. (This is the kid who can hear a train 20 miles away. And while I would like to think that he must be deaf after the tenth time he's ignored my loud request to leave his baby sister alone, I know it simply isn't so.) Somehow this simple task, which should have taken five minutes at the peds clinic, turned into a referral to the audiology department and a special appointment on Tuesday at 10:30, no other children allowed along. Fortunately, Greg was able to meet us at the clinic after his morning class to take Mary. The only issue was his intramural running race at 11:30. But, like the good dad he is, Greg came prepared with our jogging stroller. If David's appointment wasn't finished, Mary would just have to run the race with her dad.
Despite the facts that his appointment took place in a creepy sound-proof closet and he had wires hanging out of his ears, David did so well! I could tell he was uneasy, even a little scared, but he stayed calm and followed the audiologist's directions. Once he caught on to the "game" of raising his hand every time he heard a little bird in his ear, he had a good time, things moved along efficiently and--voila--he has perfect hearing! Even after waiting for the audiologist to type up her report, we still made it to the starting line before the race began. So Mary missed her big chance to run a race with her dad.
We stayed for the race. This time it was only a 5K, and Greg did me the favor of running really fast, so we didn't have to wait very long:
We watched for Greg, who was conveniently way ahead of the pack and in a red shirt, and when we spotted him, David started yelling, "Go, Daddy! Run faster!" David then ran out to meet him:
Here is Greg just a few strides from the finish line: 
He finished fifth (out of 150 runners). Not bad!Maybe another time, Mary. (But, as much as he loves you and as cute as you are in your stroller with the wind blowing in your face, I doubt he'll want to bring you along for this race.)
